Returning Home
By the time Yiling returned home, the sun was high in the sky, and her children were awake, waiting anxiously by the door.
"Mama! Where were you?" Yun'er cried, her little face pouting in worry.
"I was in the mountains, my precious ones," Yiling said, kneeling to hug them both. "And I brought us something special."
She revealed the ginseng root, its earthy aroma filling the small room. The children's eyes widened in awe, but Zhi, ever perceptive, frowned.
"Did something happen, Mama?" he asked softly.
Yiling hesitated, the boy's words echoing in her mind. "Just a strange encounter," she admitted, giving them a reassuring smile. "Nothing to worry about."
But later that night, as the house fell quiet, Yiling couldn't shake the uneasy feeling. Outside, the wind howled louder than usual, rattling the shutters. For a brief moment, she thought she heard a whisper carried on the breeze—soft and lilting, like laughter.
She couldn't tell whether it was real or her imagination. But the boy's warning lingered in her heart, and she knew this wasn't over.